Wednesday, Oct 23, 2002
Wednesday, Oct 23, 2002 |
| International | ||
|
News:
Front Page |
National |
Southern States |
Other States |
International |
Opinion |
Business |
Sport |
Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary | International
By Sridhar Krishnaswami
The bus driver was said to have been standing on the top step when he was hit from across a wooded area. He was immediately taken to the Suburban Medical Hospital in Bethesda where he was listed in a critical condition. Subsequently, he was pronounced dead. In the aftermath of the incident early this morning, police immediately threw a dragnet in the hope of hunting down the killer. Traffic on the busy Connecticut Avenue that links Maryland and Washington D.C. came to a standstill. But several hours after the incident, authorities are still looking for the gunman, who is acting alone or with an accomplice. Police have not formally linked the latest shooting to twelve others that have taken place, but are working on that impression until they have been shown otherwise.The "Beltway Sniper'' who has come to terrorise Maryland, Virginia and Washington D.C. struck his 13th victim this morning, ten of whom have died and three are injured, two of them seriously. The Montgomery County police have advised residents of the area to be alert, "cautious and vigilant''. But in the aftermath of this morning's fatal attack, the County Police Chief, Charles Moose, said that there was no vehicle or person "look out'' to share. The latest shooting follows the high drama that lasted for several hours in Richmond, Virginia, on Monday resulting in the detention of two persons who have been found to have no links whatsoever with the "Beltway Sniper''. The "mistake'' of at least one of the persons in Richmond was that he happened to be at the wrong place and at the wrong time. The police were looking out for activity at a phone booth near a gas station when one of the "suspects'' drove up to place a telephone call. The police, the SWAT teams included, jumped the man. To make matters worse, this person was driving a "white van''. With the so-called lead falling apart, authorities later announced that the 24-year-old Mexican national and the 35-year-old from Gautemala have been turned over to the Immigration and Naturalisation Service to start deportation proceedings. Both are said to be undocumented workers. Police are now trying to establish telephone contact with the sniper pleading with him to call "again''. Authorities are of the view that the killer called them after the latest attack on Saturday but that the voice was too muddled. "The person you called could not hear everything you said. The audio was unclear and we want to get it right. Call us back so that we can clearly understand,'' Mr. Moose said on Monday. Investigative authorities are tightlipped on the kind of material they are sitting on. They believe that the latest call and the note with a telephone number at the scene of Saturday shooting are from the same person. Authorities are not speaking much of the note left behind near the Restaurant. But various media reports have described it as being hand written, lengthy, in "broken'' English and rambling. Some have said that there was a reference to ransom and a threat directed at schools, that prompted the closure of several in and around the Richmond area.
Printer friendly
page
News:
Front Page |
National |
Southern States |
Other States |
International |
Opinion |
Business |
Sport |
Miscellaneous |
|
|
|
The Hindu Group: Home | About Us | Copyright | Archives | Contacts | Subscription Group Sites: The Hindu | Business Line | The Sportstar | Frontline | Home |
Copyright © 2002, The
Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of
this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of
The Hindu
|
